Valentine's Day
by Kyprish Prophetess
Summary: Valentine's Day. A day for love. A day of hormones in a teenager-filled school. The day before lupercalia. Good luck, Moony.


So, I go to start writing a second chapter to my other fic, and what do I find? This thing, floating in a sub-folder. Huh. Well, enjoy, I suppose.

Remus did not like Valentines Day. No, that wasn't right. He _hated _it. Despised it with the same burning loathing that his friends Sirius and James reserved for Snape. Sure, the candy was nice, but he couldn't get over his hatred of the fourteenth of February.

It was the smell. The overwhelming scent of hormones in the air drove him insane. It made him want to bang his head against the nearest wall until he lost consciousness.

Well, it wasn't fair to blame it all on the scent. Not for those reasons. The real reason was the day _after_ St. Valentine's.

Lupercalia. The official mating day of werewolves. The rising smell of hormonal teenagers excited the wolf part of him, and made the next day even worse.

_It would manage to fall on a full moon week,_ he grumbled, finally forcing himself out of bed and standing. The added senses were _not _helping.

He glanced around the dorm room. He was the last one inside.

"Figures. They all get candy at breakfast; why sleep in?" Slowly, he made his way to his trunk, finding a set of clean robes and heading towards the bathroom.

"Wish I could just…" He sighed, opening the bathroom door.

"Just what?"

"Ah!" He jumped, nearly dropping his things, and turned, to see Sirius standing in the doorway, soaking wet.

And here was the real problem. His attraction to Sirius. Someone up above hated him, he was sure. Why did he have to fall in love with him?

He inwardly cursed.

His gaze traveled over Sirius' form, before snapping guiltily back to his face. Sirius didn't notice, and walked to his own bed, finding some clothes. Remus stared at him, absorbing as much as he could before he turned away, hoping to slip into the bathroom before…

"So? What do you wish?" Remus groaned, stopping but not turning around. Behind him, he heard Sirius' clothes hit the floor with a muted slap.

"That I had normal friends. For instance, why are you soaking wet?" He slipped into the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack so he could hear.

"Well, I went into the Great Hall, and gave my normal mornings greetings to Snape, as usual."

"So, he cursed you?" Sirius scoffed.

"If he had, I'd still be getting lectured by McGonagall for turning his ears into trumpets or something. No, I managed to get to the table, and got hit by Lily's response to James' invitation to Hogsmeade." Remus snorted, reemerging from the bathroom and looking at Sirius.

"You're not going to try and get back at him, are you?" Sirius grinned at him over a shirt.

"Moony! I'm surprised at you! Normally you wouldn't think so low of me!"

"I don't think lowly of you. I simply know what to expect." Sirius merely smiled again, before offering a hand.

"Shall we go?"

_XxX_

Sirius knew that Remus didn't like Valentine's day. He even knew why, had pried the answer out of Remus the year before, when he had shot hexes at any hearts they saw in the halls, and nearly blew up Madam Puddifoot's. (Not that Sirius would've minded; that place was the bane of the existence of every male currently dating within Hogwarts)

He suspected it had a bit less to do with the smells and instinct to mate with someone that Remus suggested, and more to do with the longing to be with somebody. But he didn't say anything about that.

So he wasn't surprised when a sullen glare slipped over Remus' face as they entered the festively decorated Great Hall.

"Sorry, shoulda warned ya. It looks like Dumbledore let Sinistra decorate this year." Sparkly pink stars and moons floated around, with the more cliché flowers and hearts. Remus winced, but walked into the room.

By now, most of the Hall had cleared, students eager to get to Hogsmeade with their dates. James and Peter were gone as well, though Sirius had no idea where they'd gone.

"So, you gonna bother with the village?" Sirius glanced at Remus, who was wolfing down every type of meat on the table, ignoring anything vaguely resembling pink. He shrugged.

"I 'unno. 'Ow bout you?" He swallowed, drank some milk, then continued consuming roughly the equivalent of a horse.

"Well, I don't have a date… and there's no fun in going to Zonko's when we can sneak there… so I suppose I will grace you with my presence…" Remus looked up, surprised.

"… as long as you have some means of entertainment." Groan. Entertaining Sirius wasn't the easiest task in the world. Remus would rank it somewhere between fighting a legion of Death Eaters empty-handed and convincing the Ministry to give magical creatures full wand rights.

"In that case, you'd better go to Hogsmeade. I'm afraid I have nothing besides chess to offer you." He looked back at his plate, not wanting to see Sirius' face at that moment. Usually, Remus would be full of ideas, but today all he wanted to do was curl up in bed and ignore the world.

"Chess sounds delightful, my dear Moony, so it appears I shall stay." Wait, what?

"Huh?" Remus looked up in surprise.

"I'll stay. I can't leave you alone on Valentine's Day, can I?" Remus looked back down, fighting a slight blush.

"It's not like we're dating; you're allowed to leave me to my devices." Sirius stuck out his tongue.

"Well, I won't. Come on, before the house elves figure out where I am." The house elves delivered the letters every year, to avoid a large mass of owls swarming the Great Hall.

Most of them went to Sirius and James.

"Right…" A bit dazed, he followed Sirius out of the Hall.

_XxX_

Sirius watched Remus closely, playing it off as waiting for him to make a move. Really, he was watching for some sign of the usual Valentine's mood. But all he was getting was the same contentment that Remus usually had.

_Well, around _you _anyway…_ He hushed the voice, as Remus finally shifted a queen and watched him expectantly.

He shifted his gaze to the board, distractedly making a move before continuing his thoughts.

Remus had only shown his annoyance when they'd entered the Great Hall, now that he thought of it. Perhaps it was the students themselves that annoyed him so much?

He couldn't really blame him; the lovey-dovey actions got rather annoying after a few minutes of exposure. The fact that Remus' senses let him _smell _their attraction no doubt made it worse.

"Hey, Moony?" He looked up, blinking as whatever strategy he'd been working on vanished.

"Yeah?" Sirius scratched the back of his head, wondering how to ask.

"Er… what exactly is the werewolves mating instinct? I mean, how bad is it? Is it one person, or…?" He tapered off, unsure of what to make of Remus' expression.

Remus flushed. How could he ask that? How was he supposed to answer…?

"Um, well… it's not to mate, exactly, though that's part of it. It's more to _claim _a mate, really. You know, to make sure the one they want, per say, isn't taken. Most lycans my age already have their chosen…"

"Chosen?" Remus inwardly groaned. Why hadn't he thought that through!

"Yeah… um, kind of like how James decided to marry Lily back in first year. You see the person, you know. Plain and simple."

_Please don't ask anymore, please don't ask anymore…_

"Do you know yet?" _Damn._

"Yeah." He looked away, and braced himself for the obvious question.

"Who is it?" Well, at least he'd been prepared… sort of.

"It doesn't matter. Just let it go, Sirius."

"But…" Remus turned at him, snarling.

"I said to _let it go."_ Sirius leaned back, shocked. Remus' eyes were yellow; the wolf was talking right now.

_XxX_

"No." Remus screamed in the privacy of his mind. Damn Sirius, why wouldn't he just shut up? The wolf's rage at the whole situation was leaking through to him; he'd spoken aloud.

"I can't just let it go! Merlin's beard, Moony, you're miserable!"

"I was fine until you butted in!" _No, I wasn't! Why am I saying this? _

"Is that so? So if I hadn't said anything, you would've gone to the person you like, asked them out? Be on a romantic date?" Remus growled.

"Face it, Remus, you need someone to give you a kick." Sirius was leaning in, trying to convey his meaning. Remus leaned back, only to hit the wall.

Sirius was still talking, but Remus didn't notice, as Sirius' scent washed over him. A mix of dog and spices, the smell of his shampoo. Chocolate and a sharp tang of anger.

_Anger! Try and remember that he's angry at _you! His rational mind yelled, to no avail.

Sirius' face was terribly close…

He didn't even realize he'd done it until he heard Sirius gasp, feeling the air rush over his lips. He belatedly noted he'd also grabbed Sirius' arms, and had his tongue in his mouth.

_Mmm… he tastes good…_ Something in him was yelling that this was bad, would end badly. He couldn't bring himself to care. The wolf was quiet, an added bonus.

Then he remembered where he was, what was going on, and wrenched himself away, staring into Sirius' shocked face with horror.

"I… I, er…" There was nothing to say, nothing at all. His gaze darted around the room, vaguely noting a house elf that had snuck in while they were distracted, before shoving past Sirius and out the door.

"Moony!" He barely heard the yell, only noting that there were no footsteps following him, and that the wolf had taken over his mind, taking him to the only place it knew was safe:

The Shrieking Shack.

_XxX_

Sirius sat entirely still, one hand still covering his lips in shock.

_Had that really happened…?_ In his mind's eye, he saw what had happened, over and over. The yellow eyes, Remus leaning forward, his tongue in his mouth…

And the terrified look he'd given him when they'd pulled apart.

He was still sitting there when, several hours later, James returned.

"Oi! Padfoot, where were you? We went to Zonko's without ya!" James was, oddly enough, coated in pink glitter. Sirius looked at him once, before turning back to the fire.

"What happened?"

"Hm?" He didn't look up.

"What happened? You've barely moved since we got here! And where's Moony?" He glanced around the Common Room, which only held two other students. The younger students were outside, enjoying the bizarrely warm day.

"He… kissed me." James looked up, startled. Sirius didn't move.

"So… why the _hell_ are you sitting here?" Sirius turned to look at him.

"Because he ran off right afterwards! Besides, he said he has someone he already likes. The wolf took over." James walked forward, then smacked him upside the head.

"Ow! Jeez, what was that for?" James held a hand to his brow, wondering idly when he'd become the reasonable one of the group. It was odd, in all senses of the word.

"For being an idiot. The person he likes is _you_, now go find him!" When Sirius didn't move from where he sat, he spoke again.

"He's probably in the Shack. Go _now, _before I hex you." Startled, he did as he was told, running out of the room.

James sighed, falling onto the couch. He glanced at the board, and carefully moved a piece.

"Check-mate."

_XxX_

Sirius had never been more thankful for his Animagus form then that moment, as he ran full tilt under the branches of the tree and under the root. It was dark enough that he probably wouldn't be seen, luckily, as he had made no effort to hide his transformation.

As Padfoot, he could smell Remus all through the tunnel, fresh and laced with shame. Was it that he had kissed him, or simply that he had given into the wolf that scared him this bad?

He changed back when he reached the Shack itself, walking quietly and listening. It sounded like someone was in the bedroom above.

Someone certainly was, curled up on the bed and breathing harshly. Sirius was glad there were no tears, at least.

"Remus?" The body twitched, shifted, and rolled over, looking at him. Yellow-brown eyes looked at him, flashing between colors occasionally. He looked surprised.

"Sirius?" Well, that was better than he'd hoped. Remus sat up, evening his breathing as he stared. Oh yeah, he needed to respond, didn't he?

"Hey, Moony. You know, you didn't need to run," he wanted to add a witty line after that, but the moment seemed too serious for that. Yes, he noticed the pun.

"I… what?" A hopeful expression was overtaking the confusion, and Remus' eyes were centering on amber again. Good, good…

"You didn't need to leave. I happen to fancy the pants off you, figuratively," he leered a bit, grinning as Remus smiled a touch, looking surprised now, "and literally." Remus' smile became a full blown beam, and he stood up from the bed.

"Well then…" he hesitated, before throwing his arms around Sirius' neck.

"I do believe we have some decent snogging to do. Cause if that last one is any example, your reputation is highly overrated." Sirius yanked him closer, leaning their foreheads together.

"My reputation is underrated, if anything! Shall I prove it to you?"

"Try it. Impress me, if you can."

He proceeded to. Several times. They didn't get back to the castle until two days later.

_XxX_

"I love Lupercalia…"

"Just the date?" Remus rolled over and looked at him, glaring, but his eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Oh, you too, I guess…" He was rewarded with another kiss.

"Yeah, back at ya. Now go to sleep, we have to get to class eventually. And I don't even want to think about what James is going to say when we see him again."

_XxX_

"Mr. Potter, have you any idea where Black and Lupin are?" James glanced at McGonagall with a smirk.

"You know the date, right?" She frowned at him, before understanding dawned in her eyes.

"Oh… _Oh…_ Well, then. Get to breakfast, now, off with you," she waved him away, before rubbing her eyes tiredly.

_Teenagers._


End file.
